Kent Police arrested a 34-year-old Kent man for investigation of fourth-degree assault after he allegedly grabbed the butt of an 18-year-old woman as she helped her mother load groceries in a Safeway parking lot.

Officers responded to a call from the mother that a man had grabbed her daughter's butt and then left in a silver pickup, according to the police report. The incident occurred at about 10:44 p.m. June 4 at Safeway, 13101 Kent Kangley Road.

The mother and daughter got the license plate number of the truck. Officers tracked down the truck and driver near the store. The man at first denied the allegations.

But after officers told him a video camera recorded the incident and that the mother and daughter had identified him as the man, he admitted to grabbing the "tall, cute girl's" butt with his left hand as just a spur of the moment action.

The daughter told police she and her mother were loading groceries when a man walked past them to enter his truck parked next to them. As he passed the teen, she said she felt his hand on her left butt cheek. She said he squeezed her in the same manner her boyfriend would.

The mother told officers she heard a slapping sound and then saw her daughter rise to her toes. The mother approached the man in his truck but he drove away.

Police booked the man into the city jail just after midnight June 5. He posted $500 bail and was released about 10 hours later, according to jail records.

Safeway installed a video camera because of vehicle prowls in the lot.

Prostitution

Police arrested a woman for investigation of prostitution after an officer posed as a customer to set up through texting a meeting for sex June 6 at the Howard Johnson hotel, 1233 Central Ave. N.

The officer responded to a phone number listed for an escort at backpage.com, a website used by prostitutes and pimps, according to the police report.

The ad listed Kent as a location under a title of "Best of the Best."

An officer sent a text to the phone number on the ad and started an exchange of messages to set up a meeting for sex. The officer rented a hotel room. Officers arrested the woman when she knocked on the hotel door after she reportedly had agreed through texting to accept $100 for sex.

When officers looked at the woman's cellphone, it listed the number the officer had used. She had even listed the number under the title of Hotel.

The woman told the officer he was very good on the phone and believable as a client. She said she had worked as a prostitute in Hollywood, Calif., after graduating from high school last year. She also had worked in Las Vegas before moving to Washington. She said she worked independently and did not have a pimp.

Officers booked her into the city jail. She posted bail about five hours later, according to jail records.

Assault

Officers arrested a man for investigation of fourth-degree assault and giving a false statement after he reportedly slapped his girlfriend and then gave police a false name.

Police responded to a domestic dispute at about 12:54 a.m. June 4 at a home in the 5900 block of South 232nd Court, according to the police report.

The officers also arrested the girlfriend for third-degree malicious mischief and obstructing an officer after she allegedly slammed an inside garage door on an officer as she tried to stop her boyfriend from getting arrested.

The mother of the woman called police to report the incident. Officers arrived at the house and found the man sleeping in a car in the garage. The man said he had argued with his girlfriend while watching television but denied hitting her.

The girlfriend got into an officer's face and pointed her finger at him and told him to take her mother out of the house. The officer handcuffed the girlfriend, who then used her feet to knock an inside garage door against the officer. The officer pulled out his Taser and pointed it at the woman, who then stopped resisting.

The girlfriend did not talk to police about the dispute with her boyfriend.

Theft

Police arrested a man for investigation of third-degree theft after he reportedly stuck four DVDs down his pants and took them from the Fred Meyer store, 25250 Pacific Highway S., at about 7:02 a.m. June 6.

A store security officer saw the man take the items and leave the store without paying, according to the police report.

The man fled northbound on a Metro bus, which Des Moines Police stopped in the 21500 block of Pacific Highway South. Des Moines and Kent police took the man into custody. The man admitted to taking the DVDs and said he was going to pawn them for cash.

Officers found the DVDs "Wyatt Earp," "Faster," "Hancock," and "Spiderman 2," in the man's backpack.

Drugs

Officers pulled over a man for driving without a seatbelt and then cited him for investigation of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

An officer saw the driver June 4 near Central Avenue North and East Smith Street, according to the police report.

When the officer walked up to the driver's window, he smelled marijuana from inside the car. The driver agreed to allow a search of the vehicle. Officers found a plastic baggie with green matter inside that they later reported tested positive for 0.9 grams of marijuana.

The man told officers he thought possession of marijuana was legal in the state with just a monetary fine.

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